{{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Coretta , image = , caption = , sire = Caerleon , grandsire = Nijinsky , dam = Free At Last , damsire = Shirley Heights , sex = Mare , foaled = 1994 , country = Ireland , colour =

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

, breeder = Gerald W. Leigh , owner = Gerald W. Leigh , trainer = Christophe Clement , record = 18: 7-4-4 , earnings = $748,420 , race = La Prevoyante Handicap (1998, 1999)
Long Island Handicap (1998)
Orchid Handicap (1999) , awards= , honours = , updated= Coretta (foaled February 11, 1994 in Ireland) is a Thoroughbred racemare who competed in the United States. She was bred and raced by Gerald W. Leigh, proprietor of

England's England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Eydon Hall Stud. Leigh owned and bred her dam, Free At Last, who was a daughter of the 1978 Epsom and Irish Derby winner, Shirley Heights. A

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

with a strong social conscience who was a member of the Council of Management for the Animal Health Trust, Leigh named Free At Last for those words contained in Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 speech, "

I Have a Dream "I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called ...

". Leigh named Free At Last's first foal, Coretta, for King's widow, Coretta Scott King. Leigh later gave another of Free At Last's foals the name of the African American civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. Coretta's sire was Caerleon, the 1983 Champion Three-Year-Old Colt in France who was a son of the

English Triple Crown The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

champion, Nijinsky. Leigh maintained racing stables in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. Coretta raced once at age two in England and in 1997 at age three made five starts with her best performance a win in the Breitling Handicap at Newmarket Racecourse under jockey Frankie Dettori. In 1998 Coretta was sent to the United States where she was conditioned by French trainer Christophe Clement, who is established in the United States. At age four she won Graded stakes races on turf, including the then Grade II Long Island Handicap at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

in New York City and the La Prevoyante Handicap at Florida's Gulfstream Park. In 1999 Coretta won her second consecutive La Prevoyante Handicap as well as the Orchid Handicap. At New York's

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

, she finished second to Soaring Softly in the Grade I

Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap The Flower Bowl Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged four years old and older over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in early September at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. ...

. Entered in the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, the parimutuel betting public made Coretta the seventh choice at 16:1 odds. In the 1⅜ miles race, she ran near the leaders until the top of the homestretch when she moved into the lead only to be caught near the finish line to finish second again to Soaring Softly. Retired to

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

duty, among her matings Leigh bred Coretta two times to Ogden Phipps' stallion

Seeking The Gold Seeking The Gold (April 7, 1985 – July 28, 2016) was an American thoroughbred racehorse and a successful sire. Background and Family Seeking The Gold, a bay colt, was bred in Kentucky by Ogden Phipps, who also owned him. One of numerous t ...

, naming the foals "Civil Rights" and "Shared Dreams".

References

Coretta's pedigree and partial racing stats
1994 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 14-a Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United States